I’m a huge fan of upgraded locking tuners, four way switches, and shielding . I also have one with a quarter pound tele pickup in the bridge and a p-90 in the neck. It’s an amazing combination.
On my Fender Player Tele I have fitted a Freeway 3-B-3 six position lever, Graphtec Nut and Stringtree, Brass Saddle Bridge, Locking tuners and upgraded the pickups (still single coils).
On my 1984 2-pickup Bullet, I put the 4-position switch, and also made the volume and tone knobs push-pull. One puts the pickups out-of-phase (so I can do this in series or parallel mode, more tone choices although subtle), and the other disconnects the tone circuit ("raw" mode). I agree that "in the studio" is where all the extra choices are most desirable.
Went all out on my Squier Seafoam Green FSR Bullet. Locking Kluson Tuners, GraphTech nut (cut by luthier), CTS Pots for tone and volume, SwitchCraft input, Switchcraft 4 way switch, Seymour Duncan Vintage Tele 59 (neck), Seymour Duncan Little 59 Tele humbucker (bridge), GraphTech String Saver Saddles, Parchment White Pickguard, Tele Green Jelly knobs, frets polished, neck relief set, GraphTech string seperator, Schaller Strap Lock, Orange drop capacitor. Many would say just buy a Fender but nothing is more satisfying than owning a guitar that's exactly the way you want it and sounds exactly the way you imagined. Small investment with zero regrets! Did much of the same for my Epiphone Les Paul with SD Seth Lover pickups and 50's cloth wiring. It's still less money than a Gibby AND sounds every bit as good if not better!
@@PherotoneStudios Me again under a different ID. You're 100% right about the 4 way switch. The third down position gives you that full thick flowing sound.
Admittedly, I was always put off by the Tele shape growing up, it just didn't seem very cool. After having purchased one though it's by far my most favorite guitar out of 10 (2 now being Tele's lol). They're by far the most versatile sounding and pretty easy to mod to your taste. No doubt you'll be extremely pleased with the upgrades your making.
Dude I bought one when I first started playing and couldn’t figure out why people liked them and 2 guitars later with it’s maple neck it’s probably my favorite one
I modded my 06 MIM by changing the bridge to a classic 3 saddle config (though I opted for a compensated set made of brass) with the original style plate. Changing the bridge and the materials the bridge and saddles are made of will change the tone and feel of your guitar. I like the twang, and modern 6 saddle configurations with thick plates changes it.
I’ve had the 4 way switch for a few years now. I also fitted a pull option on my volume control knob, to enable a coil tapped neck pickup to be fitted. That compliments the position 3 of the selector switch.
My favorite Tele setup was my Hot Rod Deluxe. I kept the SD mini humbucker in the neck. I put an SD Little 59 on the bridge (stacked humbucker) with a coil tap on it.
Thanks for this great vidéo ! I used a different wiring diagram on my tele, I found it on a forum. There's a 3-way switch and 2 push/push. In the middle position when the volume knob is up, the pick-ups are in series, when the tone knob is up the pick-ups are out of phase. I can have many different sounds : 1/ Bridge 2/ Bridge + neck in parallel 3/ Bridge + neck in parallel / out of phase 4/ Bridge + neck in series 5/ Bridge + neck in series out of phase 6/ Neck. It's quite easy to do and it works pretty damned good !!!
As far as the control plate is concerned, I reversed it (then reverse the tone and volume so they're in the correct spot). That way the tone pot is now the one that's next to the switch. Also when on the bridge pickup, the switch is facing away from the the pot, which leaves you space. I only touch use the tone pot for the bridge pickup so it makes sense to me. I've also considered rewiring so the tone pot works only for the bridge, or for the bridge+neck configuration but never got around to do it
I'm doing that 4-way switch with a pair of nocaster. thanks for the 💡! I already modded one of my teles with a pair of Hot Rails. Those are great pups.
Good video. Funny, though; the more videos I see about modifying a telecaster, the les I wan't to modify mine. About the only mod I am considering is swapping out the six saddles for three. But I doubt I will even do that.
I fitted a G E Smith short bridge with compensated brass saddles, a Dawgtown neck pup ( 7k output) and an Evil Sheep 5/2 alnico mix bridge pup (11k output) and it is fantastic. That bridge pup is a screamer and the alnico 2 side for the plain gauge strings, has slightly more warmth than alnico 5s. It makes it a little less glassy , which is great at higher volumes. My other Tele (a partscaster) has a Firebird Duncan vintage neck pup (6.5k output) and a Kent Armstrong (humbucker size) P90 on the bridge (9k output). Both guitars are super versatile as you can imagine, as the pups installed cover everything imaginable.
@spacebutler 3000 Probably easier to flick a switch than reach for a Les Paul ? Buying the switch might just be a hair cheaper than buying a les Paul ? Does adding this extra tone detract from your original tone ? Nope. If you keep yours original, why watch a vid for mods !
A Fender with humbuckers will sound and feel different than a gubson. Scale length will change where your nodes and anti-nodes are on the strings in relationship to the pickups and string tension will be different. Likely fretboard radius will be different. Of course your frets will be spaced differently. Nothing wrong with modding your tele. Tons of pros throughout the decades have done so. Some people want their own sound and aren't really on a quest for "pure vintage" tone. No shame in either. But then again, losers who think their opinion is objectively correct and that flaming others for disagreeing are entitled to broadcast their stupidity everywhere. Stupid people can have and rudely express their opinions. They can also lose arguments by being idiots, as if there's any other outcome to insulting someone for having a "wrong" opinion.
@@ARFthegodking Your right. A Gibson has a feel to it, it’s not just a tone difference, but you can’t just stop to swap a guitar mid song, well I can’t but spacebutler can, so a mod can be helpful. A lot of the vintage tone comes from the vintage players, most vintage guitars sounded different anyhow, so chasing that tone is like trying to find the end of a rainbow. Modding the control switch on a tele can add a tone, without taking away anything, so not modding as spacebutler to keep stock tone is a bit silly as you still have the original anyhooo.
Can you please, PLEASE make a video of how to install a telecaster bridge to a stratocaster body? Please, I have zero experience on this, and you're literally the only person that explains things perfectly My idea is to make a strat with a tele bridge pickup and a strat neck pickup.
Don't believe you can really do that without a custom body. Statts generally have a tremelo system so you can't use a traditional hardtail. Best option is to just block off the tremelo.
Great video. I made a telecaster with twin humbuckers, 5 way switch and a tune-amatic bridge and 24 frets on a 25.5 inch scale length. All without a scratch plate and painted purple What an axe, if I do say so myself.
I was thinking of doing something similar last night. Telecaster but with a carved top, 24.75 scale length though and was going to try an angled neck like a Gibbo. How are you finding the 5 way?
@@PherotoneStudios I like it, positions 1 and 5 are the humbuckers, 3 is the two together - I am unsure about that one, I may change it. 2 and 4 are the humbuckers split. I was considering doing a push-pull in a sort of HSS setup but that is beyond me electronically. This is my second build - first was a ruined Les Paul - epiphone - I got the body for £15. One humbucker, 5 tuning pegs no bridge and the wiring was shot, but the neck was straight and the body was in good condition. I love tinkering with wood and paint.
Mods to My American standard - Locking tuners - I do this to every guitar - Push-pull volume, Pull will wire the bridge direct to the output bypassing everything else, if you have you volume and tone rolled a bit, it like have a boost pedal that you can switch on - Strap lock - do this to every guitar - Next, I will do a 4-way switch (I use to have the push-pull do that, but I changed it to a lead switch) - thinking of changing the neck pickup to something strat like Mods to My Squire Classic Vib Tele custom, - Locking tuners/Strap locks - Bigsby !!!!!!, I have a thing for teles with Bigsby's - SD Vintage Stack Bridge pickup - Local handmade Wide range humbucker in the neck (Martian A Smith, In Australia) - All electronics upgraded
I've got a 5-way switch in my Tele, and I actually like the 'out of phase' setting in some live situations. I EQ it differently than the 'in phase' settings. I tend to like to increase the mids when it's out of phase, and for songs with OD, a Tube Screamer is quite ideal for a quick way to do that without using multiple EQ pedal presets if that's not a convenient option. I also swapped the positions of my volume and tone pots and flipped the control panel around so that the pots are closer to my right hand. I'm also using a 500k volume pot and a 250k tone pot. I feel the 500k helps keep the 'out of phase' setting from sounding too thin and quiet relative to the other settings. I've got an ashtray bridge which came with small barrel saddles (nickel I think?). When I swapped the saddles out for larger brass saddles (which sound much better as well as having better intonation), I ended up having to shim the neck to increase the angle in order to accommodate the taller saddles.
I put a set of Alegree Alnico 5 + 2 pickups along with upgraded Pots (Potentiometers), Orange Drop Capacitor, input jack, a 4-Way Selector switch and six individual brass saddles. Oh boy, now it kicks some serious butt and then some!
Great video! Gave me some great food for thought for another guitar assembly in the future. I recently assembled a Warmoth Telecaster with a TV Jones Super’Tron HB in the neck position, a SD Custom “Staple” P90 in the middle, and a Lollar Alnico 3 Tele Bridge Pickup. I love my setup and get some of the most amazing tones with a 5-way switch and a mini-toggle that adds two more pickup positions to that (aka the Gilmour Mod).
Cool. I have a butterscotch Player Tele with these “Plus-Deluxe” upgrades by me - Vintage Fender bridge and tuners, Wilkinson's compensated saddles, Mojotone ’52 Quiet Coil pickups, Lucky Dog gnarly knobs, angled-switch cover-plate, and a three string tree to stop the g-string ring behind the nut. It's a great guitar. I love the satin back/glossy top maple neck. For me it just blows away anything else under a grand. And I prefer it to the American series which I can afford to buy if I wanted to.
triple string tree that presses down G string is useful too. traditionally, the string tree design for E and B strings is originally for a wound G string back in the day where electric strings were pretty much the same gauge as acoustic strings
I've tried those' guess what' it didn't work worth a crap on my upright bass.... staggered tuners are better with less binding and are better for behind the nut bends. If the nut is cut right you shouldn't need a string tree for the g string on a tele/strat or upright bass.
Telecasters are the best in the world. I’m broke ass so I bought an artist copy and it’s got twin humbuckers in it and I hated it, because it didn’t sound like a Tele, but it’s versatile. I got really lucky and bought a 8yo Squier in vintage butterscotch, pretty much my dream Tele, and I’ve bought some pickups from a newer Fender Tele, and I’ll put those in with the 5 way switch mod and once I put an ashtray over it, it’ll stay like that. I’m building a Zebra wood Tele clone and using Tonerider pickups in it, so I can’t wait to hear that. I’ll probably do the 5 way switch mod to that also. Apart from that, I’ve added some roller string stays, some Fender locking strap clips, and IMO the best mod, and the cheapest, is that I really wanted binding, but I didn’t want to pull the guitars down, and all the work involved so I bought 6mm 3M black pinstripe. It’s not completely flat, it has a slight radius so it isn’t immediately obvious as pinstripe. I did both my guitars and I think it looks absolutely fabulous.
Another great one mate!. Love the look of that Tele so much haha. Matches my LP and Explorer. I want to get a Tele with a HH setup and a 2 piece bridge like a LP. Absolutely love that look over the standard Tele bridge.
yep, did all those .the best mod is no mod, If the pickups are a bit dull.put an s d broadcaster in bridge and tone rider a 2 blues in the neck .Makes a mex. tele sound like a custom shop.
I just got an offset-tele by squier, I love it. It has a route for a middle pickup, trying to figure out where to find a pickguard made for doing this. I was thinking that if I do that I could put a 5-way switch in, but then realized that I would lose the neck-bridge combo, so I was thinking if I just put a little toggle switch between the knobs that I could keep the 3-way switch and have all 7 pickup combinations ( the normal strat-like 5 plus the 2 outer ones and all 3 at once ) plus if I used a DPDT on-off-on I could make the middle have an out-of-phase position as well.
Don’t go the Seymour route, get Lollars for the best authentic Tele Tone!! I’m in the middle of a Tele partscaster build right now. Just finishing a Strat partscaster. I prefer Lindy Frailens for strats. It a SS setup with HSS pup configuration. Vintage neck & middle, “Pure PAF” 8.4k in the bridge. Added a blender knob for tonal options.
My Squier Affinity Telecaster string thru has a DiMarzio Chopper bridge pickup. Earnie balls .09 gauge, Original Fender tuner pegs. Thinking of changing the pots to 500K, and maybe swap the bridge to a Fender original one, and maybe if i go full crazy ill buy a rosewood original Fender telecaster neck! In other words, the only thing Squier about the guitar when i'm done with it is the body lol
I installed SD Hot for tele pickups and put a 4 way switch in with a series parallel option, but I also have the tapped version of the bridge pickup, which is wired to a push/pull so I get 7 tonal options with 2 pickups. I also installed a No load tone pot. Not much room to do much else in there without routing out the body more.
Moving the volume knob back would be awesome. That placement is the only thing I don’t love about my Tele. And it’s be indeed gone to change pickups and turned my volume off in a live setting 😩
Get rid of that Tele switch altogether. Change it to a Gibson type. That's the best Tele mod. They sell blank plates - I moved my volume forward with the Gibson switch between it and the tone control. Two thirds of the distance from the volume control (you need room for you hand to fit in there) and one third from the tone control.
I can't find a 4-way switch but I did see a push-pull knob on the tone knob that does the trick. I just don't see a live wiring of a push-pull for that mod so that I may replicate it.
Hey now. Love my Seymour Duncans. Always liked the way a JB sounds. And the JB Jr. 4way mod is fantastic. I have an HHS guitar that I’d love to replace the standard position 4 sound on the 5way with a tapped bridge + neck sc in series. I’m sure it could be done with a super switch or something - my local guy said it was beyond him and also why would I want to do that 🤣
Probably a little late to this one but for me, there is no wrong here if you want to mod it then mod it, if you don’t that’s fine too. Just don’t understand why some people take issue with others for having different points of view. Personally I have a 2015 American standard with mods and another that’s completely standard apart from a Tusq nut although some may take issue with that almost forgot one is maple and the other is rosewood fretboard that’s probably a problem too for some not to mention they are different colours come on guys.
I have an American Tele for years now. Love playing it, but hate the sound. Was talking about changing pickup the other day. What would you suggest for a more metal sound?
I have a Baja Telecaster which already comes with the 4-way switch plus a S1 switch in the volume knob so you get 6 different sounds: 1) bridge, both pups in parallel 2) in phase or 3) out of phase when S1 is pressed down, 4) neck and both in series (again, 5) in phase or 6) out of phase). What do you think of that setting? Also, recently position 4 in my guitar (pups in series) has stopped working (no sound at all) at times, but the rest of the positions are fine so I guess the wiring it’s fine, might be the switcher blade. I never tinker with guitars, I’m too afraid of breaking them haha, but it’s probably time to start doing some DIY stuff, do you reckon this issue is easy to fix?
If you have any soldering experience, it could be a VERY easy fix. I have a Baja Telecaster too, which I absolutely adore! I'm sure RU-vid will have a bunch of tutorials if you don't already know how to solder, but it's a very useful & fun skill. I've been able to do everything from fix broken ovens, to changing & upgrading pickups without having to pay anyone else.
Thinking to pick up a budget tele. I found one that plays really nice but the neck pickup sounds awful. If the current configuration has the pickup mounted to the body can I swap the pickups and the pick guard to a pick guard mounted pickup configuration? Is there any reason that wouldn’t work? It looks much easier to mount to the pick guard and I’d be switching out the pups anyway.
Probably but I use all 16 inputs and we have the bigger version in the other studio so it’s handy for familiarity. Also very cheap for how amazing it is
Next tele I build I plan to route the body for a middle single coil, but not cut the pickguard. Versatility without changing the look. How it'll sound tho.....
I play country ' I use 6 saddle bridges on several of my teles, you can get brass saddles or saddles made of other materials , best thing about a 6 saddle bridges is you have the option of using different material saddles on each individual string to get a better balance of tone ' unlike 2 strings to a saddle ' better intonation and able to pick closer to the bridge ' also better for palm mutting.
@@carlwilson5339 With 6 saddle you can get intonation dead on, I've tried 4 different sets of compensated saddles on my main guitar and they're still a few cents off from one string to the next. You can also use different saddle material for each string to get the balance you're after. If you play up the neck 6 saddle is the way to go.
One of my guitars has the 3 saddles, & I changed them to compensated which is much better for me! They're brass & although it isn't perfect, it's still much more accurate than the 3 straight barrels. 🤷♂️
A friend stoked me out on a 1994 Mex Tele, it played but somewhat of a mess inside. I will go with the 4 position switch and get the solder slinger's wiring all cleaned up. I think someone bumped their head when they went with the 6 saddle bridge on these. Any recommendations or vids on bridge upgrades? Thanks, great video here.
Hey I’m. It sure if you check comments on this vid still, but what type of switch do I need for the 5 way? A standard fender 4 leg? Or do I need more legs I have no idea how to read diagrams, I’m looking on Amazon for the right switch
@@PherotoneStudios gonna order some parts for my MiM standard tele tomorrow and follow the steps on the wiring when it gets here. I’m psyched it’ll give me more drive to play it. I am curious about coil tapping still as I DO need all the different sounds in the studio, any leads on that?
@@PherotoneStudios gonna order some parts for my MiM standard tele tomorrow and follow the steps on the wiring when it gets here. I’m psyched it’ll give me more drive to play it. I am curious about coil tapping still as I DO need all the different sounds in the studio, any leads on that?
To USA Americans, a man with a strong British accent and tattoos and a . .muscle-T-shirt' is obnoxious .... that is MY comment and your replies are not wanted or asked for.....
What is actually obnoxious is having an issue with the way someone chooses to dress. Also wanting to push your ridiculous ideas about what others should do and then stating that you don't want anyone else to comment on it is extra obnoxious.
I went nuts and bought 20 electric guitars in 30 months. All kinds..SG Special SG Standard Fender american professional telecaster 2 Fender 60th anniversary jaguar PRS Baritone guitar Gretch laptop steel guitar Schecter ultra 3 Ephiphone firebird Fender telecaster HH Yamaha revstar Hagstrom super Viking Hagstrom Viking 2 Guild starfire 5 And six squiers.. Two paranormal thinline telecasters.. Maple and rosewood. The pickups and playability are phenomenal.. Then i got both contemporary telecaster and stratocaster. The contemporary strat really stands out...but i m gonna upgrade the pick ups . The playability is again..fantastic . The contemporary telecaster is my least favorite at the moment. Theres no magic in the sound like the paranormals and the contemporary strat. So..i think ill convert the pickups to the 1972 set up. Then i got the 40th anniversary squier stratocaster.. Plays great..not crazy about the pickups..you can hear a pop when you play leads on it. So..im upgrading those to something close to what Stevie ray Vaughn used. Then i got the 40th anniversary squir gold version stratocaster.. That guitar is again ..freaking awesome.. The playability..the sound of the pickups is timeless.. Wound to 1950s specs I am upgrading the tuners. Last..i just got the 40th Anniversary gold telecaster eith the same neck as the gold stratocaster.. But..not crazy about the pickups Gonna upgrade to some top shelf pickups for it
